Improvement in wood pavements



N. PETERS. PHOYWLITHDGHAPHER, WASHINGTDN. D CA GORDON A. MAY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT lN WOOD PVEMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1l 2,945, dated March 21, 1871.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GORDON A. MAY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVooden-Block Pavement; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, ret'- erence being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

Figure l is a plan of the pavement, in which part A has spaces d between the blocks, filled with gravel, concrete, or other composition, as in the usual way, or otherwise; part B, in which spaces d are lled with key-wedges; and part C, in which the said spaces are filled with pieces of wood ot' their size. Fig. 2 represents three sectionsl of the abovesaid parts A, B, and C, on the lines x x, y y, and z z. Fig. 3 is a section of the pavement on the line tt. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a perspective view, showing construction and arrangement of my pavement.

lhe nature of my invention consists in a wooden -block pavement, laid of rabbeted blocks, of the size generally used in other simila-r block-pavements, say of three by six, (or eight,) placed in rows across the roadway in a checkered manner, and so disposed that the jointing-edges of the blocks of the row and of the consecutive row rest on one and the same strip or board. Itconsists, also, in llling the space between the blocks with pieces of wood in place of gravel or other material generally used 5 also, in making the said pieces of wood in depth several inches greater than the depth of the blocks, and driving the same into the said spaces and into the ground, thus using them as a iilling and as a key-wedge.

a a are the blocks. b b are their rabbets, by means of which the blocks lie on and are supported by strips or boards c c. The blocks of each row are equally spaced, the spaces being equal to the length of the blocks, and the adjoining edges of the two consecutive rows, as the rows N N, l, and 2, are rested on the same strips c c, and so on. The strips of board c o, on which the rabbeted blocks a a rest and are supported, extend crosswise of the street, as clearly shown in Fig. 4f.

The blocks and strips being laid in the above manner make a sort of a net, the meshes of which are so interwoven and self-supporting that the pavement is "ery strong and durable without any board foundation. This superstructure can be still more strengthened by fastening by nails, or otherwise, the strips c c and boards a a together, as in no other pavement.

Strips c c will generally reach the middle of the height of blocks a a, and if the blocks are three by six (or eight) the strips can be of one by three, (or four,) although the size of the blocks and strips may vary, if desired.

d d are spaces between blocks a a, filled with gravel, or any suitable material or composition, as in the usual manner.

In place of gravel or other composition to fill the spaces d d, I use also pieces of wood' or boards eeof a size of the said spaces, which boards are driven between the blocks down to the ground and even with the top of the pavement.

I also make the abovesaid boards c e several inches deeper than the blocks a a, and sharpened at the bottom, or shaped as wedges ff, which I use as a lling for the spaces d d, and at the same time as key-wedges, the same being driven into the ground several inches below the pavement, for the purpose of making the pavement firmer and more lastmg.

In use these boards or key-wedges will always keep somewhat below the upper surface of the pavement, and will produce an uneven surface sufficient for safe and easy travel.

Strips c c are laid so as to break joints in alternate strips or boards, and may rest on their joints on boards g g placed lengthwise on the roadway, if desirable.

Havingthns described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A wood pavement consisting of the rabbeted blocks a a and strips of board c c, arranged as herein described, with the pieces ot wood e c or wedges f f inserted between the blocks, as and for the purposes set forth.

Witnesses: GORDON A. MAY.

J. W. GUMMINS, J oHN W. WEBSTER. 

